Introduction to Eden
by Evelyn Raith
Summary: What happens when their association with the Venatori forces Thomas Raith to meet the mother of all humankind?  Told from Thomas's PoV.  This takes place after SMALL FAVOR and BACK-UP   The beginning of a series.


Introduction to Eden

By Evelyn Raith

**Author's note**: _This is the prequel to "When Harry met Eve". It's a bit racier and from Thomas's PoV so I figured it best to post it as a stand alone. Feedback appreciated! _

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><p>I put my hand on the door of my very expensive (and mostly for appearances) apartment. I could feel a presence through the door. My sister Lara had called me and told me (in $up3R $eCr37 c0d3) to be expecting a fellow Venator. We can't get very specific when talking about the Oblivion War. The goal is, after all, to make sure the world forgets about the bad guys. Whoever it was, they were practically sending a beacon of life force from in there.<p>

Leaning against the polished wood for a moment more, I cautiously opened the door. She was standing there with her back to me as it opened. The curtains were pulled aside slightly and she was looking out at the view. The light outside was shining off her long white hair.

I froze in the doorway, unable to make my feet move any further. A flash of Justine filled my mind just long enough to tug on my heart. Justine, whom I'd nearly killed. Justine who saved my life. Justine, who I could no longer touch without being physically burned. Being a vampire of the White Court means that I can't touch someone who is in love and is loved back. Even if they are in love with and loved by me. Long story short, love's a bitch.

She looked back over her shoulder at me, her lavender eyes touched with grey like steel. "You should at least shut the door. Then we can discuss picking your jaw off the floor." It was Eve. Yes, _that_ Eve. As in "Adam and". She was the oldest soul on the planet. Her life force practically thrummed around me, caressed me and woke the Hunger with a start.

I swallowed hard and closed the door. I had the feeling this was Lara's sick idea of a joke, but I'd already run off the edge of the cliff and was holding up the large sign that said "HELP" in small writing.

Eve walked across the room to the half-way point and stopped. Her long white hair was pulled back in a braid that almost touched the floor. Her eyes were on the level with mine and there was a smile in them. "Good to meet you, Thomas." She extended her pale hand toward me, "I'm Eve".

"I know." I managed to croak out and took her hand.

That was my first mistake. It was like her aura enveloped me entirely. The Hunger purred in my chest and I felt it step forward in my mind.

She responded to my obvious reaction with a smirk. "Haven't fed in a while, have you Thomas?"

"No, just light snacks, nothing heavy." She let go of my hand and my knees nearly buckled. I shook my head to try to get control again.

Trying to play it like I wasn't a starving child standing in front of chocolate cake I rolled brilliantly to the point of the meeting. "So what brings you to these parts?" Yeah, I'm a pro.

"Honestly, not what you think." She sat down on the large red uncomfortable sofa that was the seating centerpiece of my apartment facade.

I decided it was probably best if I just paced around the apartment instead of joining her. "So, this isn't about long dead gods trying to return to the mortal world?"

Casually pulling her braid over her shoulder, watching me pace the room with her eyes, she said. "No, I need some information from you about your brother."

I nearly choked, but I held it in. There's no way she could mean my half-brother Harry. She must have meant one of the brothers that Lord Raith had fathered. "Sorry, I'm fresh out of brothers. My father killed them all."

A soft laugh escaped Eve's full lips. "Not those brothers. I need information on Mr. Dresden."

I started to protest. I had to deny my kinship to Harry to protect him. No one could know that we were brothers it would put us both in danger. The Vampire Courts were at war with the White Council. Might as well stamp "TRAITOR" on our foreheads and behead us now if anyone found out.

Before I could get a word out, she was standing in front of me. She held a slender pale finger softly against my lips. The touch tingled and the feeling rippled down my body, lingering in some places that made me think it may have been a bad day to wear the tight leather pants.

"Don't bother denying it, little one", she said with a gentle voice. "I knew your mother. She was a friend and ally and I'm hoping her children will be as well." She leaned in and fluttered her long lashes against my cheek as she whispered into my ear, "I promise to keep your relation a secret until my dying breath."

Eve's dying breath. That was like saying "forever". Her God had thrown them out of paradise and then made the Mother of Humanity immortal. She was to walk the earth eternally, so that she may see the death and pain she brought down on humankind as a result of her disobedience to God. Adam was allowed into the gates of Heaven. Eve had her own personal hell.

Through her touch, I suddenly felt the weight of that pain and my Hunger stirred again. Not for the pain itself, I was not like House Malvora, it was the love she had for humanity that caused the hurt inside her. The care she had for her children, of which I was included.

She pulled back and took her finger from my lips. My mouth ached for it once it was gone.

"Thomas, I need to find something. Something I'm not supposed to have. I need to break the rules in order to break this curse laid upon me. The best chance I have to find it is through someone who breaks the rules and then laughs in their face. I need Harry Dresden."

I cut my eyes at her, fighting to keep my demon from showing in my face. "You're going to get Harry hurt."

"No, I will protect him with my very life." Her eyes were sincere, her words like honey. The Hunger roared in my chest.

"How do I know that will be enough? How much life do you have left to burn? My brother's life means more than my own to me." That's it, Thomas, use anger to fight down the tight feeling in your pants.

She threw her weight on one hip and set her hand on it. "You know, we will never make any progress here with your demon in the way."

It was time to show her that she wasn't as tough as she thought. "Welcome to my world, sweets." I gave her my best 'smolder'. "Not easy to deal with one and not the other." Oh yeah, stand back, she was in trouble. Now, if I could only figure out why she was laughing…

"Dear one," she said through bubbling laughter, "your demon is no threat to me."

"It's not?" I replied dully.

"Not at all, in fact," she leaned closer to me, not touching me but enclosing me in her aura. It was pure bliss and I sucked in a hard breath, "let's show it who the boss is."

Without another thought on my part, my Hunger burst to the front of my consciousness. I reached for her but she had already stepped into me, her body against mine and her warm mouth planted on my neck. My head spun slightly as the waves of life force coursed over my body and though my Hunger.

She drew her warm, wet tongue up my throat and over my chin as my hands ran down her back. I grabbed her firm backside and pulled her into my hips just as her mouth met mine and she made the most delicious whimper. My Hunger roared and devoured, but she never faltered.

She pulled at my clothes and I at hers. I had hardly noticed what she was wearing this whole time. The monster within me had only been concentrating the sheer power before me. I did inventory as my hands found the clasp to her grey hooded cloak, the buckle on her belt, the buttons on her silk blouse (which I was delighted to find that she had nothing on under as I smoothed it back off her shoulders) and the zipper of her skirt. As the skirt fell to the floor, and she stood there in front of me in nothing but the cutest cotton thong panties I'd ever seen, I realized she had only unbuttoned my shirt a few buttons.

With a wicked grin she said, "My turn." in a raspy voice.

She proceeded to finish unbuttoning my shirt, and then slid her warm hands up my stomach and over my shoulders and let the shirt slip off my arms onto the floor. With her hands still on my shoulders, she kissed right over my heart and my heart rate doubled.

Continuing with soft kisses down my stomach, I felt like my entire body was on fire. She showed no sign of the monster inside me even touching her, but I knew he was ravaging her. I could feel the satisfaction of the feeding.

My mind came back to her in a flash as she tore the button off my white leather pants with her teeth. I startled and she looked up at me from her knees, large lavender eyes satisfied that they had my attention. Running her hands over the front of my pants only made the seams stretch even more than they had before.

Still keeping eye contact with me, she unzipped the pants slowly and pulled them down off my thighs to the floor.

I vaguely thought about the fact that I was distantly related to her before she slid that tongue of hers right down the length of my cock and I didn't think I'd ever be able to retrieve my eyes from being rolled up in the back of my head. My knees nearly gave way, but my Hunger held me up, stripping life away from her with every dip of her beautiful head down onto me.

Almost lost in complete pleasure, I snapped back to myself when I heard her weakly moan as she took me deep into her mouth again. "Eve...you have to stop. I can't... my control is... "

She answered by adding her hands to the mix. Groping. Caressing. Stroking.

It took everything human in me to pull away from that warm, wet mouth. I knelt down to her on the floor with my hands on her shoulders. "You have to stop. I don't want to hurt you." I pleaded but felt the fire burning behind my eyes and through my body.

"Sweet Thomas," She put her palms against my face, "I told you, you can't hurt me and neither can your demon."

I kept my arms rigid against her as she tried to advance again. I wasn't use to just letting the Hunger run rampant. I was afraid that if I let the darkness loose, that it would consume me.

Then, while I was lost in thought and hesitation, her palms on each side of my face began to burn.

Eve's eyes were closed and she was concentrating hard. Her voice reached my ears without her moving her mouth. She wasn't talking to me, but to the Hunger. "_This boy's strength will soon be needed, he will need you and he will need you satisfied. I will see that you are sated and then you will leave me to tend to his mortal flesh."_

Light seemed to come from her pale flesh and every nerve in my body seemed to tingle in electric pleasure. All my muscles seized up and my fists curled around loose locks of her white hair. The Hunger was overwhelmed and I could feel it screaming inside my chest. As the light faded, I realized that I had been screaming right along with it.

I was glad to be sitting on the floor already, because I collapsed against the edge of the couch. "Empty night! What the hell was that!" I finally managed to cough out.

She slid her warm, naked torso up against me. "Your demon has been fed."

I assessed my inner monster and it seemed to be... asleep? She had fed it to the brim and it was in a post-Thanksgiving feast coma.

Looking up into her eyes, I said, "Ok, not gonna lie, that was freaky, man."

"Not use to feeling mortal and free?" There was a smile in her words.

"No, not really. It's a bit...disorienting." I realized I was holding what was left of Eve's thong in my hand. Score one last hurrah for my Hunger on pulling that off (pun intended) before it went down for the count.

She straddled my naked lap as I leaned against the couch and kissed my mouth gently. Feeling her warmth without the monster inside me tearing at her, tasting her mouth without any more need than to just savor the moment. I felt like a virgin all over again. I felt like I did before I had killed and fed my demon its first taste of lust.

I moved my hands over her, no longer blinded by her aura. Just flesh on flesh. It felt so nice, so natural.

She pulled back from the kiss and her eyes looked into mine. "Your eyes are such a lovely color without the curse burning through you."

"I bet you say that to all the boys." I smirked. I made her smile at me, I'm charming like that.

"We can stop, if you like. The demon sleeps for now, we can continue our conversation."

I wrapped my arms around her waist, and pulled her to me. As my mouth found hers I whispered, "Please, don't."

She relaxed against me as I hungrily kissed her. Her long, slender fingers running through my long, curly hair and cradling my head towards her to deepen the kiss. Her sweet tongue sought out mine as her hips began to move and I could feel how warm and wet she was for me as she slid back and forth in my lap. I shifted myself under her and felt as I parted her. She slowly let herself down onto me. I gasped at the hot moist silk molding around me.

She moved excruciatingly slow until her body met mine. Then she leaned back and let me get a good look at her, she ran a finger down my chest and stomach, I reached up and did the same back to her and noticed for the first time that she had no bellybutton. It just wasn't there! In its place was a birthmark of some sort in the shape of an infinity symbol. My finger traced it as I looked back up into her eyes.

No magic, no demons, nothing but sweet flesh. I had never experienced it before. Eve was clearly aware of this fact. She was being _gentle_ with me.

Well enough of that. I grabbed her by her hips and lifted us both off the ground and long ways onto the couch without letting my body leave hers. She smiled up at me and draped her long legs around me, urging me deeper into her. Her mouth found my neck as she pulled my shoulders down to her and I began to grind down onto her.

Those legs were well placed, she used them to move me every direction she wanted. I was a quick learner and followed her lead. She growled softly against my neck to confirm her approval. I got one of my feet planted on the floor and used the leverage to up the rhythm we had found. She arched her back up and I took a perfect pink nipple into my mouth.

She never once lie still beneath me, grinding up into me on every down thrust, her nails raking across and down my back. Her back arching and body squirming as I bit down on her pink flesh. I wanted to touch and kiss every inch of her soft, pale flesh.

I felt her muscles suddenly squeeze my cock tight. It was enough to make me gasp and look up into her face. Her eyes practically glowed and she pivoted and spun me off onto the floor, her body landing with me. She was straddled over me once more and I was pretty sure I wasn't going to get the upper hand again.

Her hands were planted on the floor on each side of my head, and she began to ride me with purpose. When I tried to sit up to at least be able to reach her mouth, her hands moved to my chest and she shoved me back down to the floor. I dug my hands into my shag carpeting and held on.

She was set to take what she wanted from me and there was nothing I could do to stop her. In between the shivers of pleasure rushing through my body, and my white knuckle hold on the carpeting, I couldn't help but think,_ this is amazing_!

I'm sure at one point, I must have said it out loud. I heard a naughty giggle rise from her and the rotation of her hips and the bounce of her perfect full breasts changed. Whatever she just did made my toes curl up and I gasped.

"Are you ready to fill me, Thomas?" Her voice purred.

I tried to say yes, but I think it came out UUGNNHGHH, so I just nodded my head.

She leaned down, kissed my mouth softly, sat up again and with several very intense movements of her hips, I couldn't hold on any longer. I grit my teeth against it has hard as I could, and then she came. Digging her nails into my chest and crying out my name, her body spasmed and I felt her inner muscles clamp down hard on me again and again. I gasped for air and my back arched on its own as I filled her as commanded.

She didn't let up that easy, she continued to milk me until it was nearly painful and my body trembled from head to foot. Only then did I feel her body relax and she fell forward onto my chest. The sweat of our efforts making our bodies slick.

We lay there a moment until I felt her shudder one last time. Then she slowly pulled up off of me. Every nerve in my body seemed to be tingling. My movements seemed sluggish. As my eyes started to focus again, I noticed her grab her cloak around her and head for the bathroom.

I rolled over onto my side and hesitantly touched for my demon. It was still not there. I almost felt lonely without it…vulnerable.

I forced myself to get up off the floor, pulled on my ruined pants. I walked to the kitchen, got down two glasses and filled them with water. I guzzled one down and was refilling my glass when Eve came around the corner again with her cloak over her shoulders.

I ran my hand back over my hair to get a few random curls out of my face. "That was… wow."

"I'm glad you approve. I've had some practice." A mischievous grin covered her face.

"Didn't expect you to be the casual sex sort." I said, honestly.

She picked up the glass and sipped her own water and leaned back against the kitchen counter. "Well, it wasn't the original intention. Ultimately though, I was sent forth to multiply. I take my work very seriously."

I choked on my water so severely that Eve started beating me on the back firmly until I waved her off. "Multiply?" I squeaked out between coughs.

"Well, yes." She cocked her head at me. "OH! I see, you think perhaps that was my intention here as well? To multiply?"

"No, I mean, yes…I'm just, I thought you were here about Harry." Where did I set down that sign that said 'HELP'?

Her warm hand lay upon my face and she looked me in the eye. "Thomas, I know what troubles are within your heart. It wouldn't be right of me to add to them. This was for you. A gift. If you ever desire a child, I would give you that gift too." She sipped her water again as if she had merely offered to pick me up at the airport.

She did accomplish something here though. Whatever doubts I had about her power were gone. I trusted her to be true to her word. In fact, the term 'brutal honesty' came to mind. "So, what did you need to know about Harry?"

"I need his help. I need to know where to find him." She said as she raised her glass to her lips again to finish off what water was left in it.

I smiled, "ah, well that's easy. He's in the phonebook under 'Wizards'."

…it was Eve's turn to choke on her water.


End file.
